Climate Action Now

Help Us Demand Action for Climate Change:
Wear a Green Ribbon

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Ribbons Awarded

Climate Action Now has awarded Kings Transit's bus fleet a full complement of magnetic green ribbons.General Manager Brian Hackett accepted ribbons for eight buses Thursday at the Kentville station.The ribbons acknowledge the Valley bus service for its contribution of free rides to participants in CAN's recent Green Mile Relay, and the larger role public transit plays in reducing private vehicle traffic and emissions.The Valley's van commuter service to Halifax, Green Rider, was similarly acknowledged this week.The ribbons, which signify climate protection, are being sold locally for $2. They urge drivers to stop idling and reduce both their own and transport fuel consumption by buying local products and recyling. The campaign was made possible by a $500 grant from the Resource Recovery Fund Board, and $350 in sales of green lapel ribbons, also available locally for $1. Locations are listed below.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Ribbons Delivered

The Green Mile Relay moved 52 Halifax-bound green ribbons to their destination at Province House Thursday, after five solid days of walking, and biking.

The ribbons were received and CAN facilitator Anna-Maria Galante, who walked and bussed the final leg from Mount Uniacke, Thursday morning, was acknowledged by the entire House, in the Gallery. Visit our sister site to see all of Anna Quon's photo highlights: http://annabanana1968.spaces.live.com/

Kings South MLA and Natural Resources Minister David Morse and Kings North MLA and Environment Minister Mark Parent both made a point of speaking to the CAN members present, and received ribbons for making an effort to see Al Gore's documentary on climate change, "An Inconvenient Truth."

The first caucus to get all its ribbons on - by attending a special screening of the Gore movie - will be publicly acknowledged, and Andrea Flowers, the Ecology Action Centre's movie outreach co-ordinator, has arranged three such screenings.

Close to the 30 volunteers in all helped complete a chain of walking and cycling from the Valley to Halifax. Participants got free rides from Kings Transit, in the Valley, and Metro Transit, in the Halifax Regional Municipality, as well as Green Rider van commuter service.

The chain began last Friday, when 19 volunteers helped transfer a knapsack, packed with ribbons for the provincial MLAs, from Coldbrook as far as JustUs! Coffee Roasters, Grand Pre, where the ribbons were parked for the week-end.

On Monday, four walkers took the ribbons to Hantsport, and Galante continued on solo to Windsor where the chain continued. Other solo walkers and cyclists were Araminta Midkiff (10 km); Jan Hermiston (10 km on the route); and Mike Hartlen (20 km on the route.)Thanks go out to:-Friday's walkers: Kevin Ward, Chris Alders, Rosemary and Trevor Lloyd, Leslie Wade, Diana Church, Karen Harris, Jeannie Gibson, Rev. Lynn Uzans, Paul Taylor, Richard Hennigar, Linda O'Neill, Matthew Keoughan, Patrick Bazinet, Maureen Grant, Mercedes Brian, Logan Grant (age 16), and Ellis Brian-Clayton (age 10).Monday's walkers: Robin Young (age 16); Lisa Hammett Vaughan; her appropriately named dog, Miles; and Heather Davidson, who helped move the ribbons to Hantsport with me, and Sandy Burbidge who met me at the Windsor town limit after I'd come about 23 km from Hantsport solo. Thank you also to Karen Harris, who gave me a lift home.Tuesday's walker and cyclist in the rain: Araminta Midkiff and Jan Hermiston: who did 10 or more km each on the route; although Jan cycled from Hantsport to avoid burning gas at all! All told, this took her about five hours.Wednesday's cyclist: Mike Hartlen who covered close to 40 km on his own.Thursday's walkers: my brother Marcello Galante, who walked across the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge with me, long-time friend Anna Quon; Andrea Flowers and Mark Butler from the Ecology Action Centre, and Ruth Gamberg. Thanks to my mother, Nancy Galante who got me back to the Green Rider stop early. Pictured above right, are Anna Quon, Andrea Flowers, Marcello Galante and me.Kings Transit drivers Allen and Murray; manager Brian Hackett; Metro Transit drivers on the #83 and #87; Green Rider drivers Chuck and Kevin.Reporters Patty Mintz of The Regional, Gordon Delaney of the Halifax Herald, and Pam Berman of Information Morning.

The first 325 ribbons went together with the assistance of the Flower Cart's transition to work program, for the price of a pizza party. Another big thank you to Karen Harris of Avon Valley Floral, for magnet sheets, and floral ribbon.

If you'd like to order ribbons, e-mail galaward@eastlink.ca or call me at 679-1478 - or post a comment here.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Why Green Ribbons? Who's got them? Who's next?

The sustainability ribbon is both honour and reminder.David Suzuki, Raffi and Elizabeth May all responded ahead of Al Gore. His was sent by mail.The ribbon is meant to honour efforts that impact climate change through sustainability; whether individual, group or government.Proceeds beyond material costs will be held for a sustainable transportation fund.

Suzuki got his ribbon by mail, and wrote to say so. My kids presented Elizabeth May with her ribbon when she spoke at Acadia University. This was appropriate as she was talking about the importance of family and community.

Raffi picked up his ribbon Sept. 23 at the Acadia Cinema, where he gave a unique presentation on Child Honoring: the subject of an anthology and his personal philosophy.The book's forward was written by the Dalai Lama, and lays the foundation for everything this site is trying to accomplish: securing a future for our children.See the links box to read about the book.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Stones Concert

The tape got wet, but my sister and brother got 120 ribbons up in the porta-potties at the Rolling Stones concert in the pouring rain Saturday night. We have no idea how many got picked up ... but we thank them for the effort!!"I don't think the ribbons were in vain. 120 were available to people for taking (5 bags with 120 ribbons divied-up). I don't know how many were taken, we couldn't even get back there at the end of the night because we were so soaked we could barely walk and we had to get back downtown to wait for buses to get us back to Dartmouth. It was pretty miserable as far as the rain went." - Rosalia Galante

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Between 250 and 300 at Acadia Cinema

Sept. 14As many were turned away from last night's showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" as who went in to the 160-seat Al Whittle theatre. The line-up was out the door and down the street at 6:30 p.m. Thanks to Paul Taylor, who ran to get ribbons and safety pins, CCAN was able to keep handing out green ribbons after my own car and fridge magnets dwindled. We collected $12 in freewill donations that will be used to promote the walk.I am going back to the theatre today to fill a table with more free ribbons.There are shows at 12 noon and 7 p.m. - with the potential of overflow shows at 2, 4 and 9 p.m.Bill Zimmerman's phone number:542-5157.John Bennett was the star of the panel and gave me a free Climate Action Tour t-shirt after. After the panel's initial presentation, I got up on stage with a map showing projected shoreline changes to Kings County - provided by NSCC student Doug Stiff. Thank you, Doug.More details to come soon.

WONDERING WHAT TO DO?

So you've seen Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, or have donated money for a ribbon, and you're wondering about what your MLA can do?Ask about:- a sustainable transportation fund.- Eight-year phase-out of ATVs.- Either filters or bio-diesel required for school buses.- Standard Offer Contracts for green power generation by private individuals.- Sundays off: give the environment a break as well as the employees.- No to Mega-Quarries: strip-mining releases GHGs.- No idling policy for all govt. vehicles. Fleet replacement with hybrids or better.- Lights and air conditioning off in office buildings at night. (Tax breaks on timers?)- Links to other levels of government so municipalities can receive help and direction with green initiatives.Items like streetlight replacement can be considered from a green perspective.- Support for local food production and marketing, especially farm markets.

Background: Province House or Bust

My name is Anna-Maria Galante, and I'm prepared to walk from the Valley to Province House for climate change action.Since saying so in public, I've had some offers of assistance with this task. (Thankfully.) I am a mother of three, a former full-time journalist who gave up corporate journalism for self-employment.

I am not a passionate activist - I am an ordinary person who is awake to reality.Ironically, I am married to a chemical engineer with whom I have spent the last 15 years debating this point. When he was finally convinced by Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," I knew real action was possible. It's got less to do with whether I like Al Gore. I've heard David Suzuki say most of the same things. But for some reason, my husband, and a lot of other people missed those things.

So I haven't let a day go by without flogging the message, since the two of us held an impromptu sit-in at Empire Theatres in July.The result was Empire bringing the film back in September; and it was held over at the Acadia Cinema with a discussion panel later the same month.

About Me

I guess I’ve always had a bias about the environment.
I wrote some of the first stories about environmental illness as a cub reporter at the Dartmouth Bureau of The Chronicle-Herald in 1989.
Those stories ultimately became the basis of my honours thesis for a journalism degree at Carleton University.
The science journalism prof on the thesis board gave me an A. The other journalism prof gave me a C, and said I’d make a great advocacy journalist someday.
As a newspaper journalist, I was discouraged from "political stands."
Ironically, democracy and objectivity have not served the environment these last three decades. But both are undeniably required in a solution.
So let’s get busy.